Arco is a 2025 French animated science fantasy film co-produced and directed by Ugo Bienvenu in his feature film directorial debut, who co-wrote it with Félix de Givry. It stars Swann Arlaud, Alma Jodorowsky, Margot Ringard Oldra, Oscar Tresanini, Vincent Macaigne, Louis Garrel, William Lebghil, and Oxmo Puccino.
The film had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, followed by a theatrical release in France on 22 October by Diaphana Distribution. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards.
Plot Arco Dorell is a ten-year-old boy in the year 2932, an idyllic future where humans live in the clouds and travel through time using rainbow flight suits. Arco, too young to fly, steals his sister's time-traveling cape and gemstone in the night and attempts to travel to the distant past to see dinosaurs.
In the year 2075, robots perform most essential jobs and extreme weather events and wildfires are commonplace, though most infrastructure is protected by bubble-like barriers activated during such events. Ten-year-old Iris and her infant brother Peter are looked after by a kindly robot caretaker named Mikki while their parents spend the weekdays working in the city. Iris and her neighbor Clifford bike to school through debris from the previous night's violent storm, unfazed by the wreckage. Excusing herself from class to sit outside and draw, Iris sees a rainbow speeding through the sky. She follows it to its end and discovers Arco crash landed in the forest. Three eccentric brothers named Dougie, Stewie, and Frankie encounter Iris in the forest and seem to be looking for Arco. Iris sends the brothers in the wrong direction, but they find the gemstone from Arco's suit. Iris takes Arco back to her home, where Mikki tends to Arco's wounds and mends his cape.
Arco and Iris bond. Arco tells Iris about how future humans have moved into the clouds to allow the Earth to rest and Iris sketches the design of the platform homes from his description. The three brothers are tracking Arco. Arco explains that he cannot fly without the gemstone unless it's raining and sunny at the same time, which rarely happens. Mikki, unaware that Arco is from the future, calls the police in a well-meaning attempt to reunite him with his parents. Iris and Arco escape to her school to evade the police, while a massive wildfire rages over the town. Clifford sees Iris and Arco leave the house and follows them, as do the three brothers. Mikki shows up at the school with Peter, but the police robots at the scene will not allow them to enter.
The three brothers confront Arco and Iris but ultimately prove amiable and help them evade the police. They return the gem to Arco and he attempts to fly home from the roof of the school, but Iris begs to come along. As the wildfire grows stronger, a bubble barrier begins to enclose the school. Arco escapes to the outside of the barrier. Iris, assisted by Clifford despite him not wanting her to go, narrowly joins Arco on the outside of the barrier before it closes. Arco agrees to take Iris with him, but their combined weight is too heavy and they crash into the middle of the burning forest. With Peter in tow, Mikki follows the rainbow trail from Arco's flight, finding Arco and Iris unconscious amid the wildfire. Mikki tries to carry them to safety out of the forest, but falling trees force them to shelter in a cave.
Iris wakes up safe in an underground area with Arco and Peter. She finds Mikki carving detailed images of its memories into the cave wall, including one of Iris and Arco flying with a rainbow trail. When Mikki turns to face Iris, she sees it is badly damaged and on the verge of breaking down. As it dies, Mikki tells Iris to leave it and go. Iris escapes from the cave with Arco and Peter. When they reach the outside, many rainbows descend upon them. Arco immediately realizes his family has come to his rescue, but is surprised to find his parents are now elderly and his sister is an older adult. Arco's family explains that they have spent their entire lives searching through time for Arco and finally found him thanks to the cave art Mikki made. Iris and Arco say goodbye before he leaves with his family. It is hinted that Iris becomes an architect and designs the platform homes of the future, as well as beginning to invent time travel.
Voice cast Character Voice actor French English Iris Margot Ringard Oldra Romy Fay Arco Dorell Oscar Tresanini Juliano Krue Valdi Clifford Nathanaël Perrot Wyatt Danieluk Jeanne, Iris' mother Alma Jodorowsky Natalie Portman Tom, Iris' father Swann Arlaud Mark Ruffalo Mikki JodorowskyArlaud PortmanRuffalo Dougie Vincent Macaigne Will Ferrell Stewie Louis Garrel Andy Samberg Frankie William Lebghil Flea Mrs. Dorell, Arco's mother Sophie Mas (young)Frédérique Cantrel (old) America Ferrera Mr. Dorell, Arco's father Oxmo Puccino Roeg Sutherland Ada Joséphine Mancini Zoya Bogomolova (child)Michaela Celella (adult)
Production Director Ugo Bienvenu developed the film visually based on his own sketches rather than a script. He used ten to twenty drawings as the skeleton of the film and refined it further from there. Bienvenu worked on storyboarding for three years, and Felix de Givry translated the images into a script. They self-financed and hired three people to create a full-length animatic which they then used to convince investors to back the film. After securing funding and thanks to the previously developed animatic, they were able to complete production in a little over a year. Bienvenu worked to balance the handcrafted look with the requirements of managing a team of 130 people. The film shares its setting and the character Mikki with Bienvenu's 2023 Bande dessinée Le Journal de Mikki, published in English as System Preference by Titan Comics in 2025.
In May 2024, it was revealed that Natalie Portman, who also served as a producer on the film, had joined the cast for the English dub, which was written and directed by Bienvenu.
Release Arco had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2025. A few days later, Neon acquired North American distribution rights to the film.
The film opened in the Locarno Kids section at the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 6 August 2025. The film was released in theaters across France on 22 October 2025. The film was given a week-long awards qualifying theatrical run in the United States on 14 November 2025. In December 2025, Neon announced that the film would be given a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles and New York on 23 January 2026, expanding nationwide a week later on 30 January.
In India, after an early screening at AniMela 2026 on 21 February 2026, the film was released nationwide on 28 February 2026, by Impact Films.
Reception Critical response Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Leslie Felperin of The Guardian said the film has much going for it, including its expressive character design and musical store, but noted "the script is a touch too derivative for its own good." David Friend of The Canadian Press described the film's "rusty charm," which evoked everything from old Saturday morning cartoons to René Laloux’s 1973 animated film "Fantastic Planet."
Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Camera d'Or Ugo Bienvenu Annecy International Animation Film Festival 14 June 2025 Cristal Award for Best Feature Film Arco SACEM Award for Best Original Music Award in a Feature Film Arnaud Toulon Hollywood Music in Media Awards 19 November 2025 Original Score – Animated Film National Board of Review Awards 3 December 2025 Best Animated Film Arco Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association December 7, 2025 Best Animated Film Michigan Movie Critics Guild 8 December 2025 Best Animated Film Chicago Film Critics Association December 11, 2025 Best Animated Feature San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics CircleDecember 14, 2025 Best Animated Feature St. Louis Film Critics Association December 14, 2025 Best Animated Film New York Film Critics Online December 15, 2025 Best Animation Seattle Film Critics Society December 15, 2025 Best Animated Film Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 17 December 2025 Best Animated Film Austin Film Critics Association December 18, 2025 Best Animated Film Florida Film Critics Circle December 19, 2025 Best Animated Film Las Vegas Film Critics Society19 December 2025 Best Animated Film Online Association of Female Film Critics 19 December 2025Best Animated Feature Kansas City Film Critics Circle 21 December 2025 Best Animated Feature Georgia Film Critics Association December 27, 2025 Best Animated Film North Texas Film Critics Association 29 December 2025 Best Animated Film New Jersey Film Critics Circle31 December 2025 Best Animated Feature Alliance of Women Film Journalists 31 December 2025 Best Animated Feature Puerto Rico Critics Association 2 January 2026 Best Animated Feature Minnesota Film Critics Association2 January 2026 Best Animated Feature Critics' Choice Movie Awards 4 January 2026 Best Animated Feature Columbus Film Critics Association 8 January 2026 Best Animated Film Astra Film Awards9 January 2026 Best Animated Feature Best Voice Over Performance Natalie Portman Greater Western New York Film Critics Association10 January 2026 Best Animated Film Arco Golden Globe Awards 11 January 2026 Best Motion Picture – Animated North Dakota Film Society12 January 2026 Best Animated Feature Hawaii Film Critics Society 12 January 2026 Best Animated Film Utah Film Critics Association 17 January 2026Best Animated Feature Lumière Awards 18 January 2026 Best Animated Film Best Music Arnaud Toulon London Film Critics Circle Awards February 1, 2026 Animated Feature of the Year Arco Annie Awards February 21, 2026 Best Feature - Independent Arco Best Direction – Feature Ugo Bienvenu, Adam Sillard, Anaëlle Saba Best Music – Feature Arnaud Toulon Best Storyboarding – Feature Ugo Bienvenu Best Editorial – Feature Nathan Jacquard César Awards 26 February 2026 Best Animated Film Arco Best First Film Best Sound Nicolas Becker, Andrea Ferrera and Damien Lazzerini Best Original Music Arnaud Toulon Satellite Awards March 10, 2026 Best Motion Picture – Animated or Mixed Media Arco Academy Awards March 15, 2026 Best Animated Feature Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman
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